


Television

by Dusk4224



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/F, Gen, Yang Xiao Long Needs a Hug, let penny have fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24310072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusk4224/pseuds/Dusk4224
Summary: A series of snippets in response to the end of season 7. It's all over the place, but it should be fun. Lots of Yang."Look me in my eye. I'm still alive. I'm still here"
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	1. Champion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang has a nightmare
> 
> Look me in my eye  
> I'm still alive  
> And I’m still here  
> Tell me what you see

Yang collapsed onto the bottom bunk. Her muscles gave a hearty throb as she stretched, listening to joints pop and click Yang let out a sigh. That last fight had been brutal, her opponent had really given it to her, keeping her constantly on her toes. Not that it mattered now, they'd lost and she'd won. Yang Xiao Long, the dragon of Beacon, champion of the Vytal festival.

Pyrrha had put up a valiant fight, using ever tool she had at her disposal, but she simply couldn't match Yang's raw power. Every blow the Spartan of Mistral landed on her simply amped up Yang's semblance, until one well placed punch had ended the duel in a decisive ring out. Yang still couldn't really believe it, she'd beaten Pyrrha Nikos, she just hoped that her dad had been watching back in Patch. She couldn't wait to see his face, Champion Yang Xiao Long, he'd be telling his students about her for years. 

"I thought I'd find you here." Yang looked up with a start, her eyes falling on her partner, leaning against the now closed door to their dorm room. "Why is Beacon's new champion skipping out on her own victory party?" Blake, walked over to the bed, perching herself by Yang's feet. �"I just needed a few minutes, its a lot to take in, plus my legs are killing me." Yang gave Blake a grin before flopping her head onto the pillow. The pair of them settled into a comfortable silence for a few moments, Blake leaning against Yang's legs. 

"Yang, can I ask you something?" Yang leaned her head up to look at her Faunus partner, Blakes eyes were determined to look anywhere but at Yang. "Do you ever feel like, you're standing on a precipice? Like you have a moment to decide something that could change your life forever." Yang stared at Blake for a second, before nodding her head as best she could. Blake moved further up the bed, before leaning over Yang, their faces inches from one another. 

"Can I kiss you?" Blake's voice was barely a whisper, her cheeks flushed. Yang gasped, staring into inquisitive amber eyes, before surging forward. Her right hand came up to caress Blakes cheek, her thumb tilting the Faunus' mouth to her own as their lips clashed. Yang melted into the kiss, her heart beating in her ears as she broke away from her partner. Yang stared at Blake when, with a sudden flash, they were somewhere else. 

The crashing noise of a waterfall, the tang of blood in her mouth, cold metal where her arm should be. Blake's eyes were wide, a mixture of relief and the remnants of a long held fear. Before either could speak, they crashed together, lips moving frantically, hands roaming, desperate for this feeling of being loved, of being alive.

And as quickly as it came it went, they were back in the dorm room, a gentle flush on their cheeks. "Is this really what you want Yang? For us to live like this, with me still full of fear that Adam might return at any second? Hiding who and what I am?" Yang gasped, staring at Blake with abject horror, her head throbbing.

"Yang!" Blake rushed forward, scooping her partner in her arms. She watched as the blonde blinked once, twice then tilted her head in confusion.  
"What did you just ask me?" Yang's voice was barely a whisper, she could barely hold on to what her partner said for the second time.  
"I said do you want to go back to the party? Before Ruby eats all the cake." Yang nodded, the party would get her out of whatever mood she was in. Slipping her hand into her partners, the two walked for the door.

Yang had to admit she hadn't seen this coming. It was almost funny, seeing the heiress of the Schnee dust company sprawled on top of not one but two fellow huntresses. The only thing that wasn't funny was the fact that one of those huntresses was her baby sister.  
The other was Penny, the slightly odd girl that Ruby had a thinly veiled crush on. Now that Yang watched them a little closer, all three of them appeared to be making eyes at one another. 

Yang took a deep breath and turned away, that was a problem for a different time. She let her eyes scan over the rest of the party, Coco and Velvet were chatting animatedly with Nora and Ren. Blake was in the midst of conversing with a blushing Pyrrha, the latter kept glancing over at Jaune who seemed to be talking with Sun and Neptune of all people.  
Yang was so engrossed watching the party, she didn't notice the person walking up behind her until they spoke.  
"Sal-u-tations Yang Xiao Long!" Yang jolted as she turned to look at the smaller girl. "I must say! I was very impressed with your match during the final." The girl bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet, her eyes alight with excitement.  
"Thanks Penny" Yang responded, trying to match the girls almost infectious energy. "Your match was pretty impressive as well, maybe we should have a spar sometime?"

Yang watched as the small girl gasped in delight, her arms stretching wide like she was about to wrap her in a hug. The gasp turned into a shriek as the girls arms continued to stretch, the sound of tearing metal deafening to Yang. She tried desperately to scrabble away from the girl as her head was severed from her body. Her eyes, glowing a luminous green, stared at Yang from the floor as her mouth continued to move.

"Is this really what you wanted Yang? A life where Cinder just... Went away? No Salem? No war? Just a normal life?" Yang felt tears prick at her eyes as she watched the rest of Penny's body slump to the floor. "Could you ever really be happy with a normal life? I think you like it. The chaos, the bloodshed, how many more people have to die before you get enough thrills?"

Yang's mouth hung agape as, like nothing ever happened, Penny reappeared in front of her. "Are you okay friend Yang? Would you like me to find your sister?" Yang simply stared dumbstruck at the girl in front of her before she shook her head, feeling the migraine from early return with a vengeance.  
"That is good." Penny responded, chipper as ever before glancing at her scroll. "I'm afraid I must say goodbye. Friend Ruby and Friend Weiss wish for met to 'come make out'." Penny paused for a second, face scrunched in confusion. "I am not sure what this is, but I am excited to find out! Goodbye Yang!"

Yang stared at the Ginger's retreating head with a mixture of bemusement and slight discomfort. The pounding between her ears pulsing louder and louder. She was only broken out of her stupor by a hand on her shoulder.

"Hello again." Yang stared into a face she'd just tried to pummel mere hours prior, her heart hitting her stomach for a reason she simply couldn't explain.  
Pyrrha Nikos gave Yang a broad smile as she continued to speak. "I wanted to come over and congratulate you again and make sure you know there's no hard feelings." Yang gazed into those kind emerald eyes, and she could tell her friend was being genuine. Pyrrha was no longer the invincible girl, she'd lost and Yang could tell that, unintentionally, she'd lifted a weight akin to Atlas from the girls shoulders.

The two of them chatted amicably for a while. Yang cracked jokes and Pyrrha gave soft smiles that made Yang's heart freeze for a reason she just couldn't place. The two fell into a comfortable silence, before Pyrrha was called for by Nora. The hammer wielder held a pair of watermelons that she seemed mere moments away from simply smashing on the ground.  
The spartan began to walk towards her teammates before stopping to turn back to Yang. "Thank you again Yang. For an amazing match." She reached out and grasped the brawler in a firm hug. Pyrrha's head resting on her shoulder. 

"Is this what you really wanted?" The hiss came to Yang's ear unbidden, her head once again begging to pound. "To erase my legacy, replace it with your own triumph? You could barely beat Mercury and even then you couldn't see through a simple illusion. You should've died on that tower. Then I could have helped instead. You couldn't save Blake, you couldn't stop Adam, you couldn't even control your temper enough to not attack Mercury."  
Yang felt like she was going to vomit, her breath came out in shallow gasps, as her friend clutched her tighter and tighter.  
"How does it feel? Knowing every death, every life lost at beacon is all your fault. Does it hurt? I bet it does. I bet it hurts like an arrow through the heart." With those final words Pyrrha turned to dust in Yang's arms, black ash drifting away on a gentle breeze. Yang let out a silent scream and as she did she awoke.

She was in a small apartment in mantle, they'd been hiding here since Ironwood had betrayed them. She wasn't at beacon, she was in a dingy bedroom that stank of mould, the only comfort being the sleeping form of Blake Belladonna next to her. The faunus ears twitched as she slept, even through the panic Yang couldn't ignore how cute they looked.  
Yang started down at her right arm, she felt her head pound again. It had been a long time since she'd had a nightmare like that, her desire to take the hit for her friends always manifested differently, sometimes a colossal Grimm, sometimes Cinder. But always, she failed, she failed because that's all she'd ever done. Fail. She wasn't a champion, she wasn't kind like Ruby, or determined like Weiss. She was nowhere near as brave as her girlfriend. There was no champion here, just a little girl dragging her red waggon through the woods.  
Yang brought her knees under her chin, resting her head in her arms and she cried.


	2. Champion (Reprise)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake reflects on her worst memories.
> 
> For all the nights you couldn't sleep  
> All the sun I couldn't see  
> All the times we needed peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this only took me five months to follow up on, but I thought I'd try and at least finish this before season 8 comes along and disproves all of it.

In the years to come, if you asked Blake Belladonna what her worst memory was, she'd say different things. To anyone but Yang she'd say it was the night of the fall. Watching Yang's blood spray out across the floor of a place they called home, her arm severed by an evil she'd brought to her partner. She could still hear his laughter as she'd scooped Yang into her arms and ran.

To Yang, Blake would tell a different truth, of a night before beacon. Of a man she'd admired, who she'd known for years, kissing her after a rally. Him trying to convince her to return to his tent with him. Her brave refusal, his sudden flash of violence and his even more sudden apology. 

But in truth, Blake's worst memory was waking up in a cold flat in Mantle. The patterns of mold on the wall turned her stomach, the splotches of green almost seeming to taunt her with a warped version of the lush foliage of her home on Menagerie. She missed home, she missed her parents but most of all she must not feeling like she was going to freeze to death. She shivered, her ears folding onto her head as she attempted to snuggle back into her portable space heater of a girlfriend. Instead of finding herself pressed against Yang's side, she found hard legs.

That's when she heard it, the gentle sobs that filled the room. She'd been so focused on the cold that she'd completely missed Yang's muffled noises of distress. Like a bullet, she was up and facing her girlfriend. Her arms shooting up to wrap around Yang's huddled frame. 

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, Yang's crying becoming fainter and fainter as her breathing became less labored. Blake gently turned her girlfriends head to face her, placing a kiss to the corner of the brawlers lips. 

"I can't do this anymore Blake." Yang's voice came out dull and empty, lacking the usual heat that flowed from every part of her being. "I can't keep being here and pretending that all this isn't my fault. That if I hadn't done better, none of this would have happened."

"Yang, you can hardly blame yourself for Ironwoods betrayal." Blake said, her voice a mix of confusion and worry. "I mean he's been like that since beacon, I think after he lost Ozpin and everything that happened he just couldn't cope anymore."

"But that's what I mean! I failed, Blake. If I'd listened to you guys, controlled my temper, kept a level head, I wouldn't have been disqualified, I wouldn't have helped lure all those Grimm into the city." Yang's voice began to waver again, her shoulders shaking with a quiet rage.

Blake felt herself freeze, she understood now, the guilt that comes with being used by cruel people to further their agenda. Yang had faced more people hurting her and betraying her than anyone she'd ever met. Hell, Yang's mother had betrayed her twice and Blake had left her for dead when she needed her most and that was something she could never forgive herself for.

"You can't blame yourself for the actions of evil people, especially when they don't blame themselves." Blake spoke softly into her partners ear, running her hands through long blonde hair that smelt overwhelmingly of strawberries.

"But if I'd done something different, maybe Penny wouldn't have been hurt, maybe Pyrrha would be..." Yang felt her voice trail off, the rasp of her breathing hitching with barely contained emotion.

Blake gave her girlfriend a soft smile. "Pyrrha died a hero and her death lies on Cinder's shoulders not yours. As for Penny" Blake took a second to strain her ears listening to the wall that separated them from the hero of mantle and the other half of their team. She could just make out Weiss' light snores and the gentle hum Penny gave out while she imitated rest.

"I think she got exactly what she wanted." Blake smiled at memories of a certain nervous reaper, hoping from foot to foot as she waited eagerly for the first date she'd spend with Weiss and Penny. Ruby's excitement barely contained as Blake attempted, with little success, to do her teammates make up.

"You may not want to see it, but you're my hero, Yang Xiao Long." Blake gave her girlfriend's forehead a soft kiss. "Ever since you saved me that dance, I knew that you were what I always wanted. A champion." She curled her fingers under the blonde's chin, gazing into her lilac eyes. "You always do so much for everyone, and ask so little in return. You saved my life and sacrificed the most precious thing in the world to you in the process, you lost an arm for me Yang. How could I think you're anything less than a champion."

"Second" Yang mumbled under her breath, blushing slightly and glancing away from her Faunus partner. "Bumblebee was the second most precious thing to me, the most precious was always you Blake."

Blake stopped for a second, sliding her hand to gently cup her girlfriends cheek before lunging forward and capturing her lips in her own. She felt Yang give a short gasp before leaning into her touch dragging the faunus back into bed with her.

For just a moment, as Yang kissed her, Blake could pretend the splotches of mold were the greens of home. Because the warmth of Yang's arms would always feel like Blake's home.


	3. Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny muses on girlfriends and magic powers.  
> "Lately the more I see the less I know within my dreams without control"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why isn't there a sheep Grimm would have made this scan way better

Do Robot girls dream of electric Grimm? Penny's father had said that to the General once, Ironwood and specialist Schnee hadn't laughed, though Penny swore she saw the latter's lips quirk up in a quickly stifled smile.   
For a split second Penny had caught a glimpsed of a different Schnee standing in front of her. A Schnee she hadn't seen since beacon, since before, before this her.

She supposed she didn't dream, or at least not until she became a maiden. She didn't even really sleep, only go into standby. Sure her brain could stimulate the notion of dreaming, but she's had complete control of them.   
Most often she set her mind to simply randomly select memories of her time with Weiss and Ruby. From the first time she and the reaper had met, to the two of them holding weiss as she cried after confronting her father. A moment of raw emotion, of triumph and deep sorrow for the white haired huntress.  
She'd allowed her normally frozen demeanour to crack in front of them, her voice wavering with a hatred, not for her father, but for a world that had made him the way he was. For forcing her to strip him of everything he held dear and knowing in her heart that she wasn't part of the everything. 

But now Penny did dream, she dreamt of a falling. Of harsh gales and bitter winter winds rushing past her as she spiralled downwards, from atlas to mantle and then falling in reverse from mantle to Atlas.   
She'd started off her second life as a tool, a weapon used to eradicate the Grimm threatening the kingdom of atlas. From there she became the defender of mantle, a hero in her own right.   
And now she had a mantle of her own, Penny Polendina Winter Maiden, a responsibility so crushing she felt she was carrying all of atlas on her shoulders. Then mere seconds after Fria's death she gained her final title fugitive of the kingdom of Atlas. 

Weapon, defender, maiden, fugitive. These were all titles thrust upon her. But there were some titles she'd chosen to take on. 

Most recently was the title of newest member of team good guy (a name Nora had proudly coined after she and Yang had spent two days trying to mash all their names together, before threatening to boot Qrow if he couldn't find someone who's name began with U to join them.)   
But the title Penny wore with pride more so than any other was girlfriend. When Penny had lost her first life during the fall of beacon her last thoughts had been of Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee, the two people in all the world who'd treated her no different because of how she came to be, who had been kind and forced their way past Ironwoods protections to show her that she was no less deserving of love. 

So when she found them again that night in Mantle and the two of them had surged over too her and tangled Penny in a hug before each giving her a gentle kiss, it was almost too perfect. A perfection that she was certain would be shattered once the mantle of maiden was thrust upon her.   
Where Penny assumed her girlfriends would run at the added pressure of her maidenhood, they instead rallied to her.   
She had never felt so safe and so loved as when the two of them held her as they flew away from Atlas.   
Penny Polendina no longer dreamed of falling or of electric Grimm. Now the only thing she dreamed was of flying, diving and swooping like a bird. As free as a snowflake drifting on a cold winters breeze or a single rose growing in the face of adversity. 

Penny, for the first time ever, was loved not for what she could do for other people but what they could do for her. Ruby and Weiss loved her unconditionally and there was nothing more freeing than that.


	4. Facts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss Schnee is certain she's the luckiest woman alive.
> 
> I know my purpose up in this life  
> I got everything I need, I feel alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just think Weiss needs a lot of love okay, like a lot of love.

The soft mumblings of a sleeping Ruby Rose was the only thing she could hear. The reaper was sprawled over the left hand side of the bed, clinging tightly to the arm of one Penny Polendina, who lay perfectly motionless in the centre of the bed. To her right, gently drumming her fingers along the arm of her mechanical partner was the ex-heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. 

Weiss couldn't sleep, her mind doing laps of the arrangements for the next week. Where they would work, who would run interference on any Atlas goons sent to find them, who would be guarding Penny as she continued to protect the city of mantle from the ever increasing number of Grimm. Weiss mind moved at a mile a minute, making it impossible to do something as frivolous as sleep. 

It was as she was budgeting for the next few days that Weiss felt her mind beginning to wander. From their cramped bedroom in mantle to high above them. Somewhere, up there in the flying city of Atlas slept her sister. Though Weiss and her had hardly parted on good terms Weiss couldn't deny that she worried.

After their reunion Weiss and her sister had huddled away in Winter's quarters for hours, catching up with one another. As Weiss had explained her burgeoning relationship with Ruby and Penny she'd watched her sister's eyebrows raise higher and higher as the conversation continued. It had ended with Weiss, a flustered mess, half-shrieking that she would of course bring the two of them for dinner to make sure they met her sisters approval, before almost sprinting out of the room.

What followed was one of the most awkward evenings of Weiss's life and also one of her most treasured memories. 

Their corner of the mess hall had been effectively taped off by a perimeter of rose petals, maintained by a permanently scowling Ruby Rose, a sight so unusual that it worked better as a deterrent than any Grimm any of the Atlas personnel had ever laid eyes on. The only thing that lessened this effect was the small black bowtie that Ruby had affixed to her capes clasp, a desperate attempt by the reaper to appear formal.

Weiss, who was currently sat with her head in her hands let out a groan of anxiety. "I can't believe we couldn’t find a single restaurant in Atlas that had a free table." Weiss couldn’t hide her despair as she mentally prepared to go get her sister from her quarters. "I know she already knows you and Penny but this is my first time introducing you as my girlfriends." Weiss had a sudden panic, "Wait, where's Penny? I told her to be here at seven on the dot, she can't be late. Not today." Weiss felt her breathing getting faster as her panic spiral took a decisive nosedive. 

In a sudden flurry of rose petals, Ruby's arms were wrapped around her. "It's okay Princess, Penny's sorting food and she's working with one of the best chefs I know" Weiss felt her girlfriend puff out her chest proudly, obviously impressed with her own planning. 

Weiss gave a soft chuckle, placing a gentle kiss on her girlfriends short hair, before de-entangling herself from her partner and smoothing out her skirt. "I need to get Winter, please go check on Penny for me?"

Ruby gave a mock salute, "Yes ma'am" before hopping to her feet. 

"Oh and Ruby" Weiss said over her shoulder as she headed for the door to the mess. "Say thank you to Ren for me." With that she strode off towards her sister's quarters. 

The mode at the table could optimistically be called awkward, but Weiss felt that didn’t do the energy at the table justice. Ruby was clearly flustered, her bow tie slightly skewed as she spoke at speeds faster than she could run. Meanwhile, Penny was the face of politeness the android girl bouncing the way she often did when excited, an excitement that showed when she introduced herself as 'Penny, you know from work,' to her sister. That and the fact that she kept referring to Winter as Specialist Schnee. 

To be honest, Weiss was considering whether or not she could drown herself in the ramen that Ren had prepared for them when Winter gave a light chuckle. Weiss looked up to find Ruby halfway through regaling the tale of the two of them fighting Torchwick and his robot during their time at beacon. Ruby was dramatically shouting team attack names, using her fingers to symbolize Team RWBY battling the Paladin, as displayed by Penny's two fists. 

Weiss's eyes drifted from the, display and over to her Sister's face. Winter's smile was reserved, but it reached her eyes a rarity from the stoic specialist. Winter's eyes, flicked over to Weiss and she quirked an eyebrow and nodded her head to the exit. 

"Then I was like ice flower, and Weiss summoned one of her glyphs and I shot ice and it was like crack, frozen!" Penny hands expanded in mock explosion, the redhead giving a soft pew as she did. Ruby looked at her girlfriend confused "but he didn’t explode when we hit him with ice flower." 

Penny gave her a shrug, "I took some artistic license, I thought it made the story better." Weiss could barely hide the laugh that rippled from her as she saw Ruby's look of indignation. Before the two of them could begin arguing, Weiss stood and lead her sister away the two of them stopping just outside the mess. 

"I'm sorry about them, they're both super nervous and wanted to make a good impression and they thought you may not like them and that" Weiss was cut off by a lifted hand from her Sister before Winter wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I think they're perfect for you Weiss." Winter's voice was soft in her ear as she held her sister close. "I've never seen you smile so much in my life. If they make you happy, that's all I could really ask for." Weiss felt herself crying, clutching tight to the only piece of her family that she still had any connection to. After a few moments, the two of them parted and Winter began heading back to her quarters. 

"Plus, Father would hate them, so that already makes them fantastic." Weiss couldn’t stop herself from giggling as she rubbed the tears from her eyes.

"Are you having a good recollection Weiss?" Penny's voice cut through the quiet of their bedroom like Crescent Rose through a Beowulf. Weiss gave a little squeak before snuggling closer to her girlfriend. Staring up into her emerald eyes Weiss noted, not for the first time, that they glowed slightly in the dark. 

"It was a wonderful memory, Penny." Weiss leaned up and gave her girlfriend a soft kiss. Penny gave a happy sigh, her free arm reaching up to tangle her fingers in Weiss's ivory locks. The two broke apart as they heard a gentle grumble from Penny's other side, a single silver orb stared at them from the darkness. 

"It's too late for kissing…" Ruby's voice was half mumbled as she rested her head on Penny's shoulder. "Can we do kissing tomorrow?" 

Weiss gave her a soft smile "of course Ruby. I love you, go back to sleep." The reaper nodded and mumbled an I love you to the heiress and the android before falling back asleep.

Penny snuck her arms around both her girlfriends, pulling them close. Weiss gave her a soft smile, before resting her head opposite to Ruby. "I think, you two are the best thing that has ever happened to me." Penny rubbed small circles into her girlfriends back as the two of them drifted off into sleep.


End file.
